Samsung CMO Marc Mathieu departs company

Marc Mathieu, Samsung USA chief marketing officer, is departing the company after nearly four years. Samsung declined to say who will hold the electronic manufacturers top marketing gig, or where Mathieu is heading next.

"Marc has left Samsung Electronics America to pursue opportunities outside of the company," a Samsung spokesman said in an emailed statement. "Marc was a valued leader who made significant contributions during his tenure at Samsung. We thank him for his time and efforts, and wish him the best in his future endeavors."

Mathieu joined the company in July 2015 following stints at Unilever and Coca-Cola. During his tenure he helped guide Samsung to record-breaking profitability, overcoming some highly publicized stumbles. In August of 2016, Samsung's much-anticipated Galaxy Note 7 smartphone began catching fire and by October of that year, the Department of Transportation had banned the phone from commercial airplanes.

When it came to figuring out how to market something complex like virtual reality—which was at peak hype in 2016—Mathieu opted to show how people behave when wearing Samsung VR headsets, a theme that's still present in the company's marketing. "The duality between experiencing VR and watching people experience VR is a very interesting marketing platform," he previously said.

Whoever Samsung taps as his replacement will be charged with marketing products like Samsung's new foldable phones, or the soon-to-launch Galaxy Smart Speaker, as well as a slew of other new devices.

Samsung spent more than $10.1 billion on worldwide advertising and sales promotions, according to the company's latest consolidated financial statements.